Stoic Theme In Shawshank Redemption

“Fear can hold you prisoner, Hope can set you free.” (“The Shawshank Redemption”) The 1994 American drama “The Shawshank Redemption”, which was written and directed by Frank Darabont, is a movie easily worthy of recognition. The story begins when Andy Dufresne, a young vice president of a prestigious bank, whom is wrongfully convicted of killing his wife and her lover. He is then sent to jail where he learns lessons about life through his friends and his corrupt scheme to launder money. After nineteen years Andy tunnels out of the prison into freedom. While it appears simple on the surface, the use of many techniques such as: color, symmetry, soundtrack, symbolism, irony, and bible references help to gain a deeper meaning than what is simply seen by the naked eye. This movie is intrinsically laced with the themes of friendship, discouragement, and redemption. Surprisingly enough, hope is also a major theme, given the majority of this movie is based in a jail. And although Shawshank presents much injustice throughout the justice system, good will always trump evil and hope will be achieved.

In the Shawshank Redemption, the use of appropriate music within the scenes, aids in establishing the films mis-en-scene. The “Stoic theme” in the film the Shawshank prison grounds are presented as a dark, dreary, and unpleasant place. This casts a shadow over the prison and creates a gloomy and lifeless atmosphere. The ambiance stays relatively depressing until the main character has his enlightenment later on in the film. The second function of the soundtrack is the “hope theme”. Many do not pick up on this theme while watching because it only appears in small hints during Andy’s time at the prison. One such example occurs when the laboring ...

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...a journey to find Andy. This is the hope that triumphs the discouragement, which was previously set in place by Brooks’ suicide. Andy also was a driving force when Red was released. After his unrivaled escape from Shawshank, Andy restored Red’s, and all the inmates’ hope for a better life. But also it is Red that is affected by Andy’s light and enthusiasm for hope, which is the instrumental shift in the story‘s development. Although, a good portion of the movie occurs in the dark like lights out at the prison, which is a profoundly tenebrous time when the characters are left with only their own noetic conceptions. An example is that nighttime death of Tommy Williams, which alludes to the desire to stay away from the truth or the “light”. Hadley walks into the light after he commits the murder to show that he partially realizes the malfeasance he has just committed.